The following is a comment left in the other Gitmo thread by Maydayog. PLEASE READ IT.
I was in GTMO from April through December 2002, deployed as part of an MP Bde’s HHC. I cannot speak to Mr. Ahrendt’s experiences, but I did have experience in two of the areas that he speaks about– that is, shaving detainees heads and the proper use of OC.
The shaving of detainee’s heads was a detail given out to lower-ranking enlisted soldiers, although there were a few higher-ranking NCOs who felt it was their duty to join their men. Strict instructions were given to ALL soldiers participating in the detail that this was not an opportunity to screw around, nor was it an opportunity to explore the concept of justice through humiliation. All detainees requesting a hair cut would be escorted individually into the exercise yard and placed in a simple metal folding chair. The detainee was given three choices– short, really short and extremely short. Again, it is important to note that all detainees who participated REQUESTED to have their hair cut.
The detainee’s beards were NEVER touched. That was made clear to enlisted soldiers in multiple ways and with multiple graphic demonstrations of what would happen if their beard were cut. Soldiers went out of their way to approach detainees on exactly where on the side of the detainee’s head they would prefer the clipping begin. I never saw any soldier treat a detainee in any way other than detached but respectful. While soldiers acknowledged that for the most part the detainees were unsavory characters, the soldiers had a job to do and they did it professionally.
Again, I was in GTMO in 2002, including the one year anniversary of the attacks– we not that far removed from the anger we all felt on that day. In fact, one of my commanding officers was a NYPD Officer on scene during the crash of the twin towers. HOWEVER, I did not witness a single case of inappropriate conduct, whether it was during the detail to shave detainee’s heads or my other visits to the cell blocks. Odd how my experience, so fresh off of 9/11 and at a time when you would expect soldiers to be most emotional about the attacks, so drastically conflicts with a soldier who was their two years after me.
The other area that I can speak to is the practice of acclimating soldiers working in the detention blocks to OC. Every soldier who was to spend time in any of the detention units was required to partake in training provided by my unit. We had three lead instructors– two of them police officers in real life and one a former FAST Marine. Despite their wealth of experience with OC, our unit required these lead instructors to attend instructor’s training prior to providing training to the soldiers in GTMO.
In addition, prior to the commencement of training I was required to be certified to be an assistant instructor (basically I held some foam pads– the lead instructors performed the bulk of the instruction). Part of this certification required me to be sprayed with OC. It certainly hurt, but I was fine within 15 minutes of being sprayed and running through the course. Mr. Ahrendt would have to be an extremely weak individual if he were affected by the spray for more than an hour. The concept that it takes multiple days to recover from the experience is pure hyperbole.
Any way, those are my experiences. I sometimes consider forming a Guantanamo Veterans of America group that focuses on fighting the outright lies and falsehoods that we, as a group, are accused of. I served with some of the finest Officers and NCOs I’ve ever seen. I was a tiny cog in a large wheel but I still feel a sense of pride that I stepped forward and served my country when called upon. That those with nothing more than political grudges or a petty need for attention would unapologetically denigrate my service frustrates me to this day.
Maydayog
